Which fast food chain is the most filthy?

[NG]

ick ick ick

[d_jedi]

It's more the location rather than the chain that determines filthiness..

but my vote goes to McDonalds - because they're more likely to be in these bad locations (because they're everywhere).

[biosh]

Yup, Mickey D's - and they used to have a reputation for cleanliness...

[sureLoss]

According to Demolition man, Taco Bell should be the cleanest :P

[trini]

for someone with over 3,000 posts you'd know by now there is a food forum.

[Nevermind]

Yup, Mickey D's - and they used to have a reputation for cleanliness...

I used to work at a McDs in high school. Only reason we didn't get perfect marks on the health inspection was because the night before I'd been lazy and instead of throwing the rag bucket in the wash like I was supposed to, I pushed it behind something next to the washer. Caught hell from my manager for it, too.

[Kommander_KornFlakes]

It depends in what location they are. But the worst of the worst for me have been some Pizza Pizzas downtown and the Kentucky Fried Chicken across the street from Jane/Finch mall.

Harevey's has been one of the most cleanest, along with Burger King.

[ill_mango]

taco bell uses the lowest grade meat fit for human consumption

that's pretty dirty to begin with

[Ozzy]

How come McDonalds or BK don't have policy of wearing gloves when handling food?
I see this all the time, the food preps touch the trash can then your meat.

Thats why i eat only at Subway.

[creature]

Contrary to popular belief, McDonalds is probably one of the "cleanest" chains around. Being a health inspector, I've been to a good share of food establishments. The big chain fastfood places are generally much better than other restaurants when it comes to sanitation.

[Ozzy]

All restaurants have some sanitary problems, but when you directly touch food, gloves should be a must. I don't want to think about where they might have been just before they put their paws on my buns.

[rdarkman68]

Contrary to popular belief, McDonalds is probably one of the "cleanest" chains around. Being a health inspector, I've been to a good share of food establishments. The big chain fastfood places are generally much better than other restaurants when it comes to sanitation.

I agree, big chain has at least some processes in place. They don't want to risk one lose franchise destorying the goodwill they built for years. But for other restaurants, the horror story I heard from part-times working... :eek: I come to believe that for 90% of restaurants, once you know the true story of the kitchen, you will never want to eat there again.

[creature]

Gloves are useless if they are not changed often enough or if proper handwashing is not practiced. Gloves can be contaminated just as easily as your hands. A lot of food handlers have the misconception that gloves are a replacement for handwashing, and do not wash their hands as frequently as they should as a result of wearing gloves.

I much rather someone touch my food with clean hands than with a pair of not-so-clean gloves.

Glove usage is not mandatory. However, utensils should be used to handle food whenever possible.

[djspazz]

I think most of these big chain restaurants are clean. However, have u ever visited their washrooms? ugh...

[gilboman]

How come McDonalds or BK don't have policy of wearing gloves when handling food?
I see this all the time, the food preps touch the trash can then your meat.

Thats why i eat only at Subway.

lol... and how would wearing gloves help? gloves touch trash can and then touch the meat? how is it any different?

subway is probably the worst since its usually one person who makes the sandwiches, fills the prep area and handles the cash.

in mcdonald's, the people who handle the money dont prepare the food.

[reflex]

Definitely McDonalds, their washrooms are disgusting.

[Headhunter]

I've never been to a Havey's... ;)

[MizTEcK]

^agreed, that's why I dont eat at Schitzel anymore beside the AGO... the guy does EVERYTHING including handling cash... WITHOUT gloves preparing the food either... so his hands are prolly mad dirty :|

[edit] posted too late, i was referring to the post about subway handling money and food by one person

[misterchill]

Sheesh, for those who said McDonald's, you guys must've never been anywhere else. Watching "Supersize Me" doesn't count.

Burger King is by far the worst.

[IronMac]

have u ever visited their washrooms? ugh...

That reminds me of the time I went to a fish restaurant downtown near the Royal York. While in the men's washroom I saw that literally half of all the patrons did not wash their hands! Ugh!!!

[IronMac]

I come to believe that for 90% of restaurants, once you know the true story of the kitchen, you will never want to eat there again.

I just watched "Restaurant Makeover" on the Food Network and tonight's episode was on the Tara Inn. The ventilation system in the kitchen had at least an inch thick layer of grease! :eek:

[me!]

some of the greasy chinese spoons are pretty ripe with disgusting stuff. Even more so than the fast food joints.

[sporb]

I remember a Mr. Sub near downtown London, ON.... man that place was gross. It's long gone now, but if anyone here remembers it, they've prob already vomited all over their keyboard.

[IronMac]

lol... and how would wearing gloves help? gloves touch trash can and then touch the meat? how is it any different?

subway is probably the worst since its usually one person who makes the sandwiches, fills the prep area and handles the cash.



Don't know which Subway you've been in but the ones I've seen always used those thin plastic gloves and there is no cross-contamination from what I can see.

[IronMac]

Definitely McDonalds, their washrooms are disgusting.

I once cycled from Toronto to Montreal...*ugh* but we ate at at least a half dozen McDonalds along the way...washrooms were fine! Mickey D's has been known for the cleanliness of their washrooms for decades.

[me!]

I once cycled from Toronto to Montreal...*ugh* but we ate at at least a half dozen McDonalds along the way...washrooms were fine! Mickey D's has been known for the cleanliness of their washrooms for decades.
I used to be one of their washroom cleaners. and the floor moppers, and the garbage removers, and table cleaners. It was one of my first jobs and I made sure it was clean. Not clean clean as to sit on the crapper bare butt, but respectable clean.

[IronMac]

Not clean clean as to sit on the crapper bare butt, but respectable clean.

The only restaurants that are the former are probably the high-end places such as 360 or Ruths Chris. *sigh*

[phillbert]

yo quiero taco bell.

[djspazz]

some of the greasy chinese spoons are pretty ripe with disgusting stuff. Even more so than the fast food joints.

You are correct. I know someone who owns a Chinese restaurant. Talk about health code violations...

[wiggy]

Taco Bell spends too much time skating too close to the edge. They're so focused on skrimping on every nickel and dime that I often find it uncomfortable to be in there. It's reflected in the look of their stores and the chintzy customer service. Not nice.

[Raggie]

some of the greasy chinese spoons are pretty ripe with disgusting stuff. Even more so than the fast food joints.

Especially the washrooms...blech! I don't know why washrooms in chinese restaurants are always so gross. Also at the chinese malls.

[djspazz]

Especially the washrooms...blech! I don't know why washrooms in chinese restaurants are always so gross. Also at the chinese malls.

Yah, I'm Chinese and even I can't stand the washrooms. It's strictly piss and run... :lol:

[duckdown]

I vote for KFC and their ******** chickens

[AudiDude]

It depends in what location they are. But the worst of the worst for me have been some Pizza Pizzas downtown and the Kentucky Fried Chicken across the street from Jane/Finch mall.

Harevey's has been one of the most cleanest, along with Burger King.

Try staying on Finch until you go to the Albion Mall, then visit Popeye's. KFC will look like a hospital.

[scan]

For all you ppl who think McDonald's is the filthiest place out of all those food chains, you have got to be the most ignorant ppl because you dont' knwo anything about McDonalds. They are probably one of the cleanest, if not, the cleanest fast food chain there is. Their policy is quite strict.

[Takada]

McDonald's is actually quite clean IMO. Burger King on the other hand :evil:

[gilboman]

Don't know which Subway you've been in but the ones I've seen always used those thin plastic gloves and there is no cross-contamination from what I can see.

lol.....lol...naive naive naive arent we?

let see, they put on the gloves for show when you come buy a sandwich, take it off when they take your money. then you leave/go eat... then they do prep work (e.g. bake the bread, fill the trays etc...)

do you think

A. they wash their hands with soap before they do that or
B. they put on new pair of gloves to do it...
C. they just do it.

or do you think they remember to wash their hands/put on their gloves everytime after handling the cash :lol: :lol:

lol... chances of cross contamination is ALWAYS greater when only one individual is responsible for prep, assembly and cash whereas at a place like McDonald's, the people who cook, cook only and dont do the cash and etc...

[IronMac]

If you're that "cynical" then why do you even go out to eat???

[munch]

i always feel a little uncomfortable when i go to harvey's just because all the locations i've gone to they handle the food (toppings, etc) with their bare hands and you kind have to wonder where their hands have been.

[relativity]

I agree with the above. I've seem some pretty bad harveys with flies buzzing over the toppings at the front.

The worst one I've seen is the Harveys in the Plaza at Waterloo. The back around there is just dirty, and the people that work there are idiots, they always get my order wrong.

One time the person there dropped my box of chicken strips on the floor and handed to me. It had all of the dirt from the floor on the top of the box, I asked if they could give me another one, they refused!


I haven't eaten there again

[bokep]

A restaurant's cleanliness depends on the people working there at that time, not which franchise they belong to. I work at McDonald's, and trust me, during the rush hours, it's very hard to keep the restaurant clean because of the large volumes of people coming in and out. We usually have one person dedicated to clean the eating area, but that may vary by restaurant, manager, and depends on how busy the store is.

If you want to see clean restaurants, start by throwing out your food in the garbage bins instead of leaving them on the table. Or you can take it a step further and clean up your own mess, even if you only clean a portion of the mess you made. Say you got a few unused napkins after eating, why not take an extra second to wipe up that little ketchup spill on the table? I'm a manager at McDonald's and I sometimes offer free food or coupons to customers that I see are cleaning after themselves.

Regarding flies, we simply can't do anything about them. It's summer, and those little bastards will find their way to food any way they can. My restaurant put up fly-catching strips on our ceilings, and the health inspectors told us to remove them. We regularly spray our stores with bug spray, but we can't do it on a large scale because they would contaminate our food or choke customers during the day. We can't do it during the night either because we lock the doors during the night, and our nightcrew would inhale the bug repellent at full-force because of the lack of ventilation, aside from also contaminating the food or toppings.

We wear gloves when preparing certain foods, such as salads, parfaits, burritos, and fajitas. It wouldn't make sense to wear gloves to assemble burgers because it'd be very easy to cross-contaminate food, and as someone had said, it gives the false sense of cleanliness. Using bare hands might look "dirtier", but it works better because we can wash our hands as often as necessary. Changing gloves every 5-10 minutes just isn't feasible.

Hope this clears up some things you might not be clear about.

[gman]

I would say Pizza places and those which has high volume of delivery. Small staff who does cooking and cleaning. Cleaning is always after thought when it is not busy but it is always busy.

[gordholio]

Rotten Ronnies (McDonalds) is very clean in Midland.
I visited the Burger King in Midland about a week ago and there were many tables that weren't even wiped off, whereas, the tables at McDonalds are wiped off very quickly and often.

[szw]

By filthy do you mean quality of food/ingredients or general cleanliness? If general cleanliness its pretty dumb as most fast food chains are a lot cleaner than many small restaurants, particularly many ethnic restaurants.

I see a lot of posts saying these mcdonalds bathrooms are gross and filthy, I don't go to fast food chains often, but I've never encountered anything really dirty even in the washroom. I am in Calgary though so perhaps thats it.

[IronMac]

I am in Calgary though so perhaps thats it.

This just begs the question...why do you think that Calgary is cleaner?

[ephemera]

I didn't vote, I would assume they are all clean or have high cleaning standards. Whereas some places I have been to, the floor is sticky with dirt, flies buzzing around, and the food is prepared behind a wall with a little peep hole so no one can see what they are cooking.

[Xtahse]

A&w!!

[Carpe Diem]

Lick's...The way they sing over your food...they are surely spitting all over it!

[szw]

This just begs the question...why do you think that Calgary is cleaner?

I never said it was. I was just postulating a reason why I've never seen filthy fast food joints, I really don't know the reason.

If I were to guess though, I would probably say Calgary is cleaner than Toronto mainly because of less population density. Just like Toronto is a lot cleaner city than New York.

[remmuh]

depends on the manager and workers i guess..

[ilfsoy]

As some have pointed out it depends on the staff and how busy it is more than the chain. Also the fast food chains are generally better than the "local" places that don't have the national company standards, excluding most higher class establishments.

Back in my univesity days I delivered for KFC at one point or another about 5-6 loactions and at a 241 Pizza place. The KFCs were definitely the cleaner ones. At many pizza places the delivery guys are in there grating cheese, packing chicken wings, etc. You don't want to see that.

[CanadianN00b]

lol.....lol...naive naive naive arent we?

let see, they put on the gloves for show when you come buy a sandwich, take it off when they take your money. then you leave/go eat... then they do prep work (e.g. bake the bread, fill the trays etc...)

do you think

A. they wash their hands with soap before they do that or
B. they put on new pair of gloves to do it...
C. they just do it.

or do you think they remember to wash their hands/put on their gloves everytime after handling the cash :lol: :lol:

lol... chances of cross contamination is ALWAYS greater when only one individual is responsible for prep, assembly and cash whereas at a place like McDonald's, the people who cook, cook only and dont do the cash and etc...

Err HELL YEAH! At least at the one at Jane and Finch. That's probably why they sell it at 7.99 for a foot long rather than the cheaper 7.39 (it adds up! :P)

[johnnyepy]

how come swiss chalet isn't on it i work there and its pretty dirty